Machine for separating the sheets of a manifold form



Aug. 23, 1966 E. c. BANGERT MACHINE FOR SEPARA'IING THE SHEETS OF A MANIFOLD FORM :5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 25, 1965 "WWW /NVEN7'0E EE/VESTCI BANGf/PT ATTORNEY Aug. 23, 1966 c. BANGERT MACHINE FOR SEPARATING THE SHEETS OF A MANIFOLD FORM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I l l-----L N T w Mm wN ME WQN NB A Filed Jan.

Aug. 23, 1966 E. c. BANGERT MACHINE FOR SEPARATING THE SHEETS OF A MANIFOLD FORM 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 25, 1965 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,268,138 MACHINE FOR SEPARATING THE SHEETS OF A MANIFOLD FORM Ernest C. Bangert, Pasadena, Calif, assignor of one-half to Alfred H. Lowers, Downey, Calif. Filed Jan. 25, 1965, Ser. No. 427,784 8 Claims. (Cl. 225-101) This invention relates to a machine for separating the usable sheets of a manifold form from the discardable portion of the said form.

Manifold forms ordinarily comprise sheaves of form sheets interleaved with carbon sheets. The form and carbon sheets are bound together along one edge of such a form with registering perforated tear lines through each form sheet adjacent to the bound edge. At the opposite edge of the form, the carbon sheets terminate short of said edge, or said opposite edges of the carbon sheets are provided with notches. In either case, the free edges of the form sheets may be gripped between the fingers of one hand (but not gripping the edges of the carbon sheets), the bound edge of said form grasped by the other hand, and the form sheets separated on the tear lines from the bound edge and the carbon sheets remaining therewith, by an opposed pull of the hands. This manual type of operation depends on the expertness of the person performing it and frequently results in accidental tearing of one or more of the form sheets,especially at the corners thereof. More than one attempt at separation of the sheets, also frequently required, may be necessary. Also, the greater the number of form sheets in the manifold form, the more frequent are the faults above outlined.

An object of the present invention is to provide a machine that, by mere insertion thereinto of a manifold form, bound edge forward, while retaining a grip on the form sheets at the opposite edge, automatically separates the form sheets from the discardable portion of the form, as described above.

In the manual separating operation above outlined, the form sheets are torn simultaneously along their perforated lines. Thus, the pull to tear away theform sheets must be as great as needed to tear a single sheet of a thickness that is equal to the sum of the thicknesses of the several form sheets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine as above characterized, in which the manifold form, along a line coincidental with the registered tear lines of the form sheets, is so bent as to cause the sheets to tear away sequentially, thereby effecting a separation that obviates accidental tearing of the sheets at places other than at, the tear lines.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of the character mentioned which operates in a snap-action manner with but little expenditure of power.

This invention also has for its objects to provide such means that are positive in operation, convenient in use, easily installed in a working position and easily disconnected therefrom, economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiority and serviceability.

The above objects are realized in a machine that clamps a manifold form that is hand-fed to the machine with the free edges of the form sheet held by the fingers of one hand, the clamping taking place along a transverse line that clamps the form sheets and the carbon sheets interleaved therewith. The bound edge of the manifold sheet, during such manual feed, engages a contactor that closes an operating circuit to the manifold-clamping means. Closing of this circuit energizes a solenoid that effects release of a machine-operating member that has a slipclutch driving engagement with a continuously-operating prime mover, such as a geared motor.

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The machine-operating member controls the oscillating movement of an elongated arm in the form of a frame that mounts means to clamp the bound edge of the manifold form at the start of the operative movement of said frame, means to impart a bend in the manifold form along the perforated tear lines of the form sheets as the operative movement of the frame continues, means to cause snap-separation of the sheaf of clamped form sheets from the clamped bound edge of the manifold form as the operative movement of the frame continues, and means, effective at the end of said operative movement of the frame and at the beginning of return movement of said frame, to release and dislodge the discardable edge-bound portion togther with the carbon sheets forming part thereof. Upon return of the oscillating frame to its initial position, the machine-operating member is automatically stopped to bring the oscillating frame to a stop. The sheaf of separated form sheets is released at this time so the same may be withdrawn from the position to which it was fed by hand.

The invention also comprises novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course of the following description, which is based on the accompanying drawings. However, said drawings merely show, and the following description merely describes, one embodiment of the present invention, which is given by way of illustration or example only.

In the drawings, like reference characters designate similar parts in the several views.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a machine according to the present invention, for separating the form sheets of a manifold form from an edge bound form, said view showing the machine in start position.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged and broken plan view showing a portion of the feed table of said machine.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view as taken on-the line 33 of FIG. 2. a

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the machine in the position thereof at the end of the form-separating and -ejecting portion of the operation cycle.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of cam means for controlling the movement of the form-bending and form sheet-separating means of the machine.

FIG. 6 is a further enlarged cross-sectional. view of the means for gripping the bound end of the form, shown in initial release position.

FIG. 7 is a similar view of means to retain said gripping means in released position in a position coinciding with the position of FIG. 6.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views, respectively similar to FIGS. 6 and 7, shown in its form edge-gripping position.

, FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIGS. 6 and 8, showingthe gripping means operated to form a bend in the form and along which the same is separated.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the gripping means in operative relation with means to release the discardable part of the form and eject the same from the machine.

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical control means of the machine.

The machine that is illustrated comprises, generally, a feed table 15 preferably disposed on a downward slope, adjustable means 16 for guiding a manifold form along the table to operative position, a fixed frame 17 that mounts said table, a continuously-driven prime mover 18 mounted in the lower portion of the frame 17, an operating member 19 having a slip-drive connection with the prime mover, an oscillating frame 20 mounted in the frame 17 and movable by the member 19 in an oscillating movement cycle, means 21, mounted on the adjustable means '16, to clamp a manifold form F manually fed to the machine, bound edge first, means 22,

carried by the upper end of the oscillating frame 20 to receive and grip said bound end of the form F, cam means 23 to rock the means 22 and including snap-action toggle means 24 to so bend the form adjacent to the gripping means 22 as to cause the toggle means to separate the sheaf of form sheets clamped by the means -21 from the bound portion of said form as the frame of the sheaf of separated form sheets from the table 15.

The feed table '15 comprises metal plates 35 and 36 that are carried by the means 16 with a space 37 between their adjacent edges, the plate 35 being raised slightly above the level of the plate 36, as in FIG. 3, so that a manifold form F, bound edge first, may he slid, without snagging, along plate 35, across the space 37, and along the plate 36. The bound edge of said form then slides over the surface of a transition plate 38 into engagement with the means 22 and the oontactor 26. Said plate 38 is shown with a pivotal mount 39 and with a spring 40 that biases the plate on its pivot so as to maintain transition engagement with the means 22, as can be seen from FIGS. 6 and 8.

The means 16 is shown as a transverse member 41 to which the plates 35 and 36 are connected and which is formed with transverse slots 42 that are in general register with the space 37 between the plates 35 and 36. Said member 41 is connected to a top part 43 in the middle part of which is formed an offset bridge part 44 that defines a finger-accommodating space 45. The plate 35 is provided with a recess 46 in register with the space 45. A curved shoe 47 is removably carried by the part 43 on each side of the space 45, the same, as required by different manifold forms, being provided with differently located thumb cutouts 48.

Since manifold forms vary in width, the means 16 mounts a pair of side edge guides 49 and rods 50. Said guides may be adjusted along said rods to insure centered position of forms fed to the machine.

It will be clear that, in practice, the middle part of the form beyond the free edges of the carbon sheets therein, is grasped between the thumb and two or more fingers of the hand, and the form slid along the table beneath the top part 43 until arrested by the means 22. With the means .16 in properly adjusted position, the fingers grasping the form will enter the space 45 or the thumb will enter the notch or cutout 48, depending on which type of form is being fed. This grasping of the form sheets that are to be retained is preferably maintained during a separation operating cycle which is carried out in about a second, or as long as it takes the member 19 to make one revolution.

The frame-17 that mounts the table is shown as comprising side base brackets 51 with upper extensions 52 which are connected by a cross bar 53 from which extends a sloping, rearwardly extending frame made up of longitudinal rods 54 connected by a transverse angle 55. The transverse member 41 of the means 16 is slidably adjustable along the rods 54 and affixed in adjusted position by conventional means. A rock-shaft 56 extends between the base brackets 51.

Forwardly extending side plates 57 from the extensions 52 are sloped downwardly and are connected at the forward ends by a cross member 58. As seen best in FIG. 1, braces 59 extend from the base brackets 51 to the transverse angle and braces 60 similarly extend from said brackets to the transverse member 58.

The prime mover is shown as a geared motor mounted in the lower portion of the frame 17, as on a plate 61. Said prime mover has a driven shaft 62 on which is carried a face disc 63 which, thereby, is rotated at the speed to which the motor reduces the reducer. Said shaft 62 extends through a bore in the operating member 19 which is shown as a dis-c 64 providedwith a facing 65 of brakelining material, and which has friction engagement with the face disc 63 according to the adjustment of a nut 66 on said driven shaft 62 to vary the compression, by means of a backing spring, between said discs 63 and 64. A laterally extending stud 67 on the member 19, by making one revolution around the axis of shaft 62, causes the frame 20 to make one back-and-forth oscillating movement on the fulcrum provided by shaft 56. Said member 19 is held non-rotational by a radial pin 68 on the periphery of the disc 64 being engaged by a dog 69 on a pivot 70 on one base frame 51. A bellcrank arm 71 is provided on said dog 69.

The means 25 is shown as a solenoid which has an armature connected to move the bellcrank arm 71 in a direction to retract the dog 69 when the solenoid is energized.

The closing of the circuit by contactor 26 to the formclampin-g solenoid 81, closes a double-pole, single-throw switch 26a, due to movement of the armature of said solenoid. This places the solenoid 25 in circuit to start the cycle of operation of the machine due to release of pin 68 by the dog 69.

It will be clear that the geared motor 18 may have continuous drive, since there is slippage between the disc 63 and disc 64 when the latter is held stationary by the dog 69.

The oscillating frame 20 comprises two arms 72 that are mounted on shaft 52 and are connected at their upper ends by a shaft 73. One of said arms 72 is provided with guide bars 74 between which the stud 67 extends. It will be seen from FIG. 1 that, from the stopped position of the member 19, the stud 67, moving in the direction of the arrow 75, first moves the frame 20 from the stop position suggested by dot-dash line 76, counterclockwise, to the position of line 77, then clockwise from said line 77 to the line 78, and finally, from the latter line to the stop line 76. Thus, a cycle movement of frame 20 starts with a small reverse movement and then the complete cycle movement forwardly and then back to start position.

The means 21 comprises two similar tilting gripping plates 79, one on each side of the middle bridge 44 in the part 43. FIG. 2 shows one of said plates. Each said plate has its own mounting shaft 80 which is journaled in the member 41 of the means 16. A solenoid 81 has its armature 82 so connected to an arm 83 on each said shaft 80 that, upon movement of said armature during energization of the solenoid, each said plate 79 will independently engage the under face of the form F beyond the ends of the carbon sheets thereof, as suggested by the line 84in FIG. 3. Should one or the other of the said plates 79 meeet an obstruction, the connection 85 between armature 82 and each arm 83 will complete the gripping movement of the other plate. In this manner, the form sheets that are to be retained are clamped to the means 16.

The means 22, shown in detail in FIGS. 6 to 11, comprises an angle member 86 that, by one flange 87, is affixed to an intermediate part of the shaft 73 across the end of the frame arms 72. The other flange 88 of the member 86 extends forwardly from the lower edge of flange 87 and forms a seat in and against which the bound edge 27 of the form F is received when a form is fed to the machine. The transition plate 38 guides the form edge 27 to this seated position, as indicated in FIG. 6.

The means 22 includes a gripper plate 89 that, by means of a pair of brackets 90 affixed t0 shaft 73 on either end of the angle member 86, and a shaft 91 extending between and carried rotationally in said brackets, is mounted above and in spaced relation to the angle flange 88.

The means 22 further comprises means 220 for holding the plate 89 with its gripping edge so spaced from the angle flange 88 that a form edge 27 may be freely slid to the mentioned stop position. Said means comprises a torsion spring 92 providing a bias on the shaft 91 in a clockwise direction, and an arm 93 aflixed to said shaft 91, which, in the stop position 76 of the frame 20, is engaged with a stud 94 that is carried by the frame 17 by means of a bracket arm 95. A second arm 96 of said bracket mounts the mentioned contactor 26. As seen in FIG. 7, the arm 93 is wedged between said stud 94 and the shaft 73 and constitutes a definite stop for the frame 20 at the end of its operating cycle.

Upon movement of the frame 21 to the position 73, the arm 93 loses engagement with the stud 94, allowing the spring 92 to rock the shaft 91 in a clockwise direction, causing the gripper plate to tilt to the position of FIG. 8, wherein the edge 97 of said plates impinges on and clamps the bound edge 27 of the form F to the angle flange 83.

The means 23 Comprises a group of cam elements that are aifixe-d to the inner face of one of the side frame plates 57, a lever arm 98 fixedly mounted on shaft 73 and having an end with a pin 99 extending into engagement with said cam elements, and a roller 100 on an opposite end of said arm and adapted for engagement with a cam element 101, also carried by said side plate 57.

The toggle means, as in FIGS. and 11, comprises an arm 192 afiixed to the shaft 73, a bracket 103 aflixed to the arm 72 that is adjacent to said arm 192, a rod 104 pivoted at one end to arm 102 and extending through said bracket 193, and a compression spring 195 confined between said bracket and a shoulder 106 on the pivoted end of said rod. Said arm 103 and rod 104, under force of spring 195, constitute an over-center or toggle device. Rocking of the lever arm 98 and the shaft 73 by the cam elements of the cam means 23, as the frame moves under control of stud 67, operates said toggle from one over-center position to the other.

Said arm 98 is in the position 98a of FIG. 5 when the frame 20 is in the 76 position, and the toggle means 24 is in the release position similar to the position shown in FIG. 11. That is the position that holds the angle member in form-receiving position, as in FIGS. 6 and 8. Upon movement of the frame to the 77 position, the clamp plate 91 will be released, as above described, to clamp the form F at the instant that the arm 93 loses engagement with the stud 94. Then, as the 77 position is approached, the lever arm 98 will be guided by engagement of the pin 99 between cam elements 107 and 108 to the position 93b, causing the toggle 24, by its snap-action, to swing the angle member 86 to the position of FIG. 10, thereby imparting a bend in the form around the edge of angle flange 88. As shown in FIG. 10, the perforation lines 109 between the bound portion 27 of the form sheets and the portions thereof that are clamped by the gripping plates 79, will assume an offset relationship to each other.

A resilient buffer member 99a receives the blow of pin 99 as caused by the above snap-action.

Now, as the frame 29 moves from the 77 position t2 the 78 position, which is shown in FIG. 11, the pull between the gripped ends of the form, being rather sudden, will separate the sheets clamped at the table along the tear lines, in a sequential manner, from the bound edge of the form. The force of this pull need not be great since the offset relationship of the tear lines causes them to tear one after the other, rather than all at the same time. The carbon sheets C, after being pulled from between the form sheets clamped at the table, fall as in FIG. 11, in the space between the arms 72 of frame 20.

As the clockwise movement of the frame 20 progresses,

the roller of the lever arm 98 encounters the cam element 101. Since the pin 99 has left engagement with the cam elements 107 and 198, and since the shaft 73 is moving in a rising arc, said roller 100 causes the arm 98 to be re-rocked to the position 980 with the pin 99 beneath cam element 108. The toggle will become straightened and, as the frame movement continues, the same will snap over to the initial position of the means 22, as in FIGS. 6, 8 and 11. Now, the pin 99 of lever arm 98 rides the cam element 110 until the frame 20 nears completion of its counter-clockwise movement toward its stop position.

The means 28 is best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 11. The same comprises a roller 111 on an extension 112 of the arm 93, and a cam shoe 113 extending rearwardly from the cross member 58 of the machine frame 17 that engages said roller when the oscillating frame 20 reaches the 78 .of FIG. 11. Said arm 93 is rocked back to its initial position engaged with shaft 73 as a stop, causing the shaft 91 that carries the gripper plate 89 to be turned in a direction to separate the edge 97 from the form portion 27, thereby releasing it. As the means 28 reaches this release position, an ejector plate 114 with a notch 115 in its forward end, receives said form portion 27 and, by arresting forward movement thereof, dislodges the same from the flange 88. The discardable portion F of the form will then fall into a suitable receptacle that may be placed to receive it. The plate 114 is shown as mounted on a pivot 116 provided in a bracket 117 that is biased by a spring 118. This arrangement provides resilient angular displacement of the ejector plate 114 to compensate for any small misalignment of the form portion 27 with the notch 115.

The 78 position of the frame 20 is the most forward position and from this position, the stud 67 will swing said frame in a rearward return stroke back to the 76 position of said frame. During this movement, the roller 111 will be freed from cam shoe 113, allowing the spring 92 to return the gripper plate 88 to gripping position. However, when the arm 93 encounters the stud 94 at the end of said return stroke, the same will be rocked and the gripper plate moved back to the release position of FIGS. 6 and 7, readying the means 22 to receive the next form fed to the machine.

The return of the frame 20 to the 76 position is buffered and stopped by the means 29, which is shown in the form of a dash pot that is actuated by a lug 119 on one of the frame arms 72.

Upon the frame 20 reaching its stop position 76 and locking of the plate 19, as previously described, by the dog 69, said frame 20 or any part that it engages in the 76 position may actuate a single-pole, double-throw switch 120 that closes the circuit to the solenoid to the means 30, which is in the form of a solenoid (FlGS 3 and 12) that rocks the shafts 80 in a direction to retract the clamp plates 79 carried thereby. Energization of solenoid 39 need be only momentary to effect release of the sheaf of form sheets that had been separated from the manifold form. Now, the same may be removed to make room for feeding of another form to the machine, and repetition of the above-described operation.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is now contemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, the construction is, of course, subject to modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is not desired to restrict the invention to the particular form of construction illustrated and described, but to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for separating the sheaf of form sheets of a manifold form from the discardable end at which said sheets and interleaved carbon sheets are bound, each form sheet having a perforated tear line adjacent and parallel to said bound end and similarly spaced therefrom, the unbound ends of the form sheets extending beyond the unbound ends of the carbon sheets, said machine comprising:

(a) means to clamp the bound end of the form and separate means to clamp the unbound end of the sheaf of form sheets,

(b) means to bend the form along the portion thereof having the perforated tear lines, to cause the tear lines of the sheaf of form sheets to assume an offset relationship to each other, and

() means to pull on said bound end of the form to cause the sheaf of form sheets to become separated from the discardable end of the form,

(d) said means to clamp the bound end of the form comprising a transverse member defining an interior corner that constitutes a stop for the bound end of the form upon feed thereof to the machine,

(e) a gripper plate with an edge held normally spaced from the end of a form engaged in said corner and providing with resiliently biased means to move to form-gripping position, and

(f) means to move the transverse member to cause release of the gripper plate for movement under said bias to grip the bound end of the form between said edge and said transverse member.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which the means to bend the form comprises cam-operated over-center means.

3. A machine according to claim 2, in which the formbending means is mounted on a rockshaft, and the transverse member is afiixed to said shaft and is provided with a transverse edge over which the form is bent when said shaft is rocked to move said edge to an upwardly directed position.

4. A machine for separating the sheaf of form sheets of a manifold form from the discardable end at which said sheets and interleaved carbon sheets are bound, each form sheet having a perforated .tear line adjacent and parallel to said bound end and similarly spaced therefrom, the unbound ends of the form sheets extending beyond the unbound ends of the carbon sheets, said machine comprising:

(a) means to clamp the bound end of the form and separate means to clamp the unbound end of the sheaf of form sheets,

(b) means to bend the form along the portion thereof having the perforated tear lines, to cause the tear lines of the sheaf of form sheets to assume an offset relationship to each other,

(0) a pivoted frame on the end of which the formclamping, form-bending, and pulling means are provided,

(d) a prime mover having a continuously-rotating driven plate,

(e) an operating disc provided with a crank pin and having a friction-drive engagement with the driven plate, and

(f) said pivoted frame being engaged with the crank pin and oscillated thereby during one revolution of the operating disc.

5. A machine for separating the sheaf of form sheets of a manifold form from the discardable end at which said sheets and interleaved carbon sheets are bound, each form sheet having a perforated tear line adjacent and parallel to said bound end and similarly spaced therefrom, the unbound ends of the form sheets extending beyond the unbound ends of the carbon sheets, said machine comprismg:

(a) means to clamp the bound end of the form and separate means to clamp the unbound end of the sheaf of form sheets,

(b) means to bend the form along the portion thereof having the perforated tear lines, to cause the tear lines of the sheaf of form sheets to assume an offset relationship to each other,

(c) a pivoted frame on the end of which the formclamping, form-bending, and pulling means are provided,

(d) a prime mover having a continuously-rotating driven plate,

(e) a frame-oscillating member having friction-drive engagement with said plate to move the frame in a direction to pull on the bound end of the form to cause the sheaf of form sheets to become separated from the discardable end of the form, and

(f) means to dislodge the discardable portion of the form from the form-clamping means on the pivoted frame,

(g) said dislodging means comprising means to release the means that grips the bound end of the form, and

(h) means in the path of movement of said form end I to arrest its movement during continued oscillatory movement of the pivoted frame.

6. A machine for separating the sheaf of form sheets of a manifold form from the discardable end at which said sheets and interleaved carbon sheets are bound, each form sheet having a perforated tear line adjacent and parallel to said bound end and similarly spaced therefrom, the unbound ends of the form sheets extending beyond the unbound ends of the carbon sheets, said machine comprismg:

(a) means to clamp the bound end of the form and separate means to clamp the unbound end of the sheaf of form sheets,

(b) means to bend the form along the portion thereof having the perforated tear lines, to cause the tear lines of the sheaf of form sheets to assume an offset relationship to each other,

(0) a pivoted frame on the end of Which the formclamping, form-bending, and pulling means are provided,

(d) a prime mover having a continuously-rotating driven plate,

(e) a frame-oscillating member having friction-drive engagement with said plate to move the frame in a direction to pull on the bound end of the form to cause the sheaf of form sheets to become separated from the discardable end of the form,

(f) means to lock the frame member,

(g) means to dislodge the discardable portion of the form from the form-clamping means on the pivoted frame, and

(h) means to release the frame-oscillating member to start the oscillating cycle of the frame and to relock the member at the end of the cycle.

7. A machine according to claim 6 in which means engaged by the bound form end is actuated to cause release movement of the frame-oscillating member when a form is fed to the machine for separation of the sheaf of form sheets from the bound end of the form.

8. A machine for separating the sheaf of form sheets of a manifold form from the discardable end at which said sheets and interleaved carbon sheets are bound, each form sheet having a perforated tear line adjacent and parallel to said bound end and similarly spaced therefrom, the unbound ends of the form sheets extending beyond the unbound ends of the carbon sheets, said machine comprismg:

(a) means to clamp the bound end of the form and separate means to clamp the unbound end of the sheaf of form sheets,

(b) means to bend the form along the portion thereof having the perforated tear lines, to cause the tear lines of the sheaf of form sheets to assume an offset relationship to each other,

(e) a pivoted frame on the end of which the formclamping, form-bending, and pulling means are provided,

(d) a prime mover having a continuously-rotating driven plate,

(6) a frame-oscillating member having friction-drive engagement with said plate to move the frame in a direction to pull on the bound end of the form to cause the sheaf of form sheets to become separated from the discardable end of the form,

(f) means to dislodge the discardable portion of the form from the form-clamping means on the pivoted frame,

(g) means to release the frame-oscillating member to start the oscillating cycle of the frame and to relock the member at the end of the cycle, and

(h) means operated by the oscillating frame upon return to locked position, to release the means that clamps the unbound end of the sheaf of forms.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS WILIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

J. M. MEISTER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A MACHINE FOR SEPARATING THE SHEAF OF FORM SHEETS OF A MANIFOLD FORM FROM THE DISCARDABLE END AT WHICH SAID SHEETS AND INTERLEAVED CARBON SHEETS ARE BOUND, EACH FORM SHEET HAVING A PERFORATED TEAR LINE ADJACENT AND PARALLEL TO SAID BOUND END AND SIMILARLY SPACED THEREFROM, THE UNBOUND ENDS OF THE FORM SHEETS EXTENDING BEYOND THE UNBOUND ENDS OF THE CARBON SHEETS, SAID MACHINE COMPRISING: (A) MEANS TO CLAMP THE BOUND END OF THE FORM AND SEPARATE MEANS TO CLAMP THE UNBOUND END OF THE SHEAF TO FORM SHEETS, (B) MEANS TO BEND THE FORM ALONG THE PORTION THEREOF HAVING THE PERFORATED TEAR LINES, TO CAUSE THE TEAR LINES OF THE SHEAF TO FORM SHEETS TO ASSUME AN OFFSET RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER, AND (C) MEANS TO PULL ON SAID BOUND END OF THE FORM TO CAUSE THE SHEAF OF FORM SHEETS TO BECOME SEPARATED FROM THE DISCARDABLE END OF THE FORM, (D) SAID MEANS TO CLAMP THE BOUND END OF THE FORM COMPRISING A TRANSVERSE MEMBER DEFINING AN INTERIOR CORNER THAT CONSTITUTES A STOP FOR THE BOUND END OF THE FORM UPON FEED THEREOF TO THE MACHINE, (E) A GRIPPER PLATE WITH AN EDGE HELD NORMALLY SPACED FROM THE END OF A FORM ENGAGED IN SAID CORNER AND PROVIDING WITH RESILIENTLY BIASED MEANS TO MOVE TO FORM-GRIPPING POSITION, AND (F) MEANS TO MOVE THE TRANSVERSE MEMBER TO CAUSE RELEASE OF THE GRIPPER PLATE FOR MOVEMENT UNDER SAID BIAS TO GRIP THE BOUND END OF THE FORM BETWEEN SAID EDGE OF SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBER. 